Hotel worker cheated out of RM19,600 by "soldier" she met online

PETALING JAYA: What was initially an attempt to help a "friend" out turned ugly quickly after a victim found out that she had been cheated off almost RM19,000 in an apparent love scam.

To make matters worse, the victim, a hotel worker in her thirties, went as far as to borrow most of the money in order to help out the scammer.

Subang Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Mohammad Azlin Sadari said that the victim came forward and made a report regarding the incident on Thursday.

"She and the suspect got to know each other through social media for about a month. The victim said that the suspect was a local soldier who had served in Australia," he said.

He added that the two were supposed to meet last month in Subang Jaya.

"The suspect claimed that he had about USD280,000 (RM1.1mil) that was being held by the Customs department while at the Singapore airport. He then asked from help from the victim to help pay a fee," he added.

ACP Mohammad Azlin said that the victim had went to a licensed money lender to find the money needed

The total money that was banked into the scammers account amounted to RM19,600, in two transactions.

The case is currently being investigated under  Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.